Tri2Cook

Got my logon information today but I won't have time to check it out until tonight. Dammit. Okay, I lied. I couldn't resist logging on and taking a quick peek but I need to be working so I'll still have to wait to really check it out.

Those look tasty Rob. Sorry, didn't mean to make it a mystery. It's been a really busy couple of weeks and I was feeling lazy. It's a riff on Sam Mason's Soft Chocolate. I wanted to see if I could get the texture without the chocolate masking the clean taste of the mint. I got it to work but it took some trial and error. There is no actual chocolate (not even white) in the "soft chocolate". I used cocoa butter instead and it did not translate straight across like I hoped but after some work I got it where I wanted it. The flavor is clean and the texture is beautiful. It feels like butter just before it actually melts but it's cold and not greasy. It flows into an almost liquid state when it hits the tongue. The chocolate bits are baked chocolate mousse. They're sitting on ye basic mint emulsion. The powder I'm calling butter mints after the candy of the same name. It's butter, fresh mint, mint oil, confectioners sugar and tapioca maltodextrin all blitzed together. The more I use tapioca maltodextrin, the less I like it. I think next time I would just up the confectioners, drop the maltodextrin, let it dry then crush it.

Mint:

Nice! That Kitchenaid closeup was a bit painful until I could get the volume down but it was still cool.

I made some steamed rice flour cakes for a dessert recently with 100g rice flour, 100ml coconut milk and 60g sugar mixed to a smooth paste then 80ml boiling water mixed in (it was a small test batch) and allowed to rest a bit before steaming. I colored them with a nori paste I'd made to make another component (nori glass). They were not all that sweet but you could probably reduce/remove the sugar if you wanted. I'm not entirely familiar with what you're after so this may be no help at all.

I guess it depends on your translation of what he's trying to accomplish. Based on watching the episodes and reading the books I don't get the idea that he's trying to accomplish the perfect version of each thing he tackles, I feel more like he's trying to accomplish the perfect-for-him version. I get the feeling that it was more of a personal journey to get the best of what he loves/remembers about each thing to the highest level he can bring it to. I think of the books as springboards of inspiration not "you have to do this or it isn't perfect" manuals.

Since I don't get one it's irrelelvant but that's exactly what I would be doing with it if I did.

I'm thinking any cake recipe with 1 egg is going to be a pretty small batch anyway but it's still not hard to scale down if you want to. I've done tests of several different variations of a cake by making really small amounts and baking each in a seperate cup of a muffin pan. I just beat up a few eggs, weigh it and divide it by the number of eggs used so I know the weight of each egg. Then I can scale down to fractions of an egg by weight. Edit: Looks like I type too slow so, yeah, what Eileen said.

The Ideas in Food folks have tons of great stuff on their site. Almost everything they do/think of is either shared in full or at least explained enough to get you moving in the right direction. It's like having a window into the minds of two great chefs. Can you tell I'm a fan?

Steamed rice flour cakes? You could hide a little surprise in the middle like a piece of fruit or something and glaze them or drop them in a syrup like little steamed babas or something. Maybe a piece of candied ginger in the middle and soak them in a sake syrup. You could do them in mini muffin pans and turn out a bunch of bite sized cakes in a short amount of time.

So here they are after boiling and drying (nope, I didn't peel the spuds)... after a first fry at 250f... after a second fry at 375f... a couple broke open so you can see the interior... I seasoned them with a mixture of sugar and salt. They taste like vanilla candy with a definite background of potato. I kept the syrup simple for the test but a syrup flavored with spices or something would probably be even better. An interesting thing was that they behaved the opposite of normal fries after the second frying. When they came out of the fryer I thought "damn, limp fries" but didn't want to color them any darker so I was just going to admit they were limp. But after they sat for a couple minutes they got crispy on the outside and were still warm in the middle. I don't know how long they'd stay that way but at least 10 minutes because they sat that long while I messed with pictures. The inside wasn't as fluffy as regular fries, it was slightly chewy. I don't think I'd ask for the supersize order because they are sweet but they were a lot better than I actually expected. A small amount with some raspberry "ketchup" to cut the sweet a bit would be ok.

Ok, it may be a bad idea but we're going to find out. Can't be any more scary than a deep fried twinkie. I cut some fries and cooked 'em to just soft in a syrup of water, sugar, corn syrup and vanilla then tossed in some butter just for the Paula Dean of it, covered it in plastic wrap and I'm letting them soak it up now. I'll put them on a rack and fridge 'em to dry out then get back with the results tomorrow when I fry them.

It doesn't make gelatin happy. Makes it a very efficient filter though.

I'm wondering what would happen if you par-cook potato strips in a flavored syrup, infuse them for a bit, let them dry on a rack in the fridge, then give them a quick flash in a fryer. Maybe I'll find out.

Fair enough. I will admit to approaching it badly. I should have followed my instincts and not posted at all or left out the disclaimers and warm 'n' fuzzies and just stated my opinion and left it at that. The disclaimers were not an attempt to make up for my opinion, they were to try to convey the fact that it was nothing personal against CaliPoutine. That it was just my viewpoint on the subject. I didn't intend to question her abilities or offend her and I wasn't trying to make her defend herself, I was just curious as to how you create something (which is different than cooking something from a recipe) without tasting it and just "know" that it's right. No matter how many people tell me I'm wrong and that they cook the best this or the most awesome that and they never taste it and never have, I won't agree. If I had known that it had been tasted by someone (or several someones in this case) I would never have posted anything at all. I sincerely apologize to CaliPoutine for this entire debate, not because I think I'm wrong or even wrong for saying it but because I honestly didn't intend it to be seen as a personal attack. JimmyWu - I'm not an "official" pastry chef but I do a lot of pastry/desserts for the restaurant where I work and for the catering business I'm part owner of and I can tell you honestly that there hasn't been anything served yet that I have to say "I don't know" if I'm asked what it tastes like. I taste the components as I'm making them and I take one from the run and taste it as well as having one or two others taste it so I can get their feedback too. Sincerely, your friendly neighborhood charlatan.

The countdown begins. One week until the Alinea Mosaic should be opening for those who pre-ordered from the site. I haven't received any information other than my order confirmation since I placed the order so I'm assuming everything is still on track.

I assumed that it meant that the flavor varied from fruit to fruit but I really don't know. That was pretty much the only description I was able to find regarding the flavor.

I'm not attacking her, I said quite clearly in both posts that it's just a pet peeve/personal opinion of mine. I agree (and stated) that she is doing a great job in a tough situation. I thought this was a discussion thread, I apologize for not realizing it was a "pat the person on the back or don't post at all" thread. I'll stay out of it from now on.

Never heard of it. Looks kinda cool though. Is there any mention of the flavor of the fruit or just that it's edible? Edit: Did a little googling because I'm curious and turned up a couple sources that described it as "reminiscent of a mild melon-flavored or guava-flavored tapioca". Interesting.

Then what I said was irrelevant... it was tasted before it was served. I apologize. I didn't pick up on that from the original post. To me it read as "I hope it isn't too salty but I really have no idea... oh good, they're adding salt". My mistake. Those examples are a bit different then a pot of soup. Raw vegetables in a salad don't require tasting if you're sure of the quality of the product. Actually, I don't consider that entirely true because knowing the sweetness/bitterness/acidity of the veg in question helps makes decisions as far as seasoning the dressing but I will agree that a raw tomato tastes like a raw tomato in a general sense and can go in a salad without taking a bite if you know it's a good tomato. Ham on it's own doesn't generally require tasting for seasoning, I've never had an under-salted ham (but if it was in a casserole or something then it might). I don't doubt that and didn't mean to imply otherwise. I honestly think you're doing a great job in a tough situation with the budget and restrictions they put on you. I just have a pet peeve about cooks refusing to taste what they cook. I realize that's my problem, not yours. I'll try to keep my opinions in my own kitchen from now on.

You don't have to tactfully disagree, just go ahead and let me have it. I can take it. I fully accept that it's just my opinion and not a fact of life.

I really should mind my own business with this one because I know it's probably going to offend even though I don't mean for it to. But I've never been the king of tact so here goes. I don't think anyone should cook anything that someone is going to pay to eat that they're not willing to taste. I'm not saying you should compromise your beliefs but maybe you shouldn't include red meat on your menu. Anyway, that's just one asshole's opinion. Hope it doesn't make you hate me.

With mousse, cheesecake, things like that, I just freeze them then pop them out. I don't do jello/gelatin molds so I can't help you there. I've never had cake stick to silicon but I don't usually bake on it except for joconde sheets.

Thank you! It looks like they have most of what I'm looking for and what they don't have I can easily work around. They need to talk to their web designer, they've never come up in any searches I've done and I do a lot of searching. Got 'em in the bookmarks now though so thanks again. Thanks to everybody for the suggestions and if any more come up I'll be glad to check them out too.

Thanks! I appreciate the information but, as dumb as it may sound, I'd really prefer to buy a set of frames if I can find them. I don't want modular bars for pouring candy in, I want solid frames for spreading batters and building layers in that won't move while I'm working and I'd like to find some rings that go below 3.5cm in depth as well.